Police: Couple leaves six children in car to shoot heroin in restaurant bathroom

ELYRIA — A sunny day at the beach ended in felony charges Sunday when police said a married couple left six children in their parked car while on their way home and shot up heroin in a Burger King bathroom, according to police.

Melissa Mitchell, 34, and David Conley, 31, were each charged with six counts of child endangerment and possession of drug abuse instruments about 7 p.m. at Burger King, 616 Broad St. Mitchell also was charged with possession of heroin, while Conley was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

After receiving a tip that Mitchell and Conley had locked themselves inside a bathroom at Burger King, police went to the restaurant to investigate, according to police.

Outside the restaurant they found six children ranging from 7 to 11 years old inside a white pickup.

At the bathroom door, officers identified themselves and heard Conley say that he was “using the bathroom” followed by a “commotion” inside the stall, according to the police report. Police opened the door and found Mitchell and Conley, who had a needle in his pocket and a belt in his hand.

Officers searched Conley and Mitchell separately and found 0.8 gram of heroin inside her purse and a bag of marijuana in Conley’s front pocket.

Mitchell told police that two of the children were hers, two were related to her and two were neighbors. She told officers that she and her husband were driving the children back to Wellington after going to the beach when they decided to stop at Burger King.

Officers asked if the couple were on drugs that day to which Mitchell just “shrugged,” according to the police report.

Despite Conley’s claims that his wife was “sick” and that he doesn’t do drugs, both Conley and Mitchell were taken to Lorain County Jail where they were being held Monday.

Conley was being held on a $7,500 bond and is scheduled to appear 9 a.m. Monday in Elyria Municipal Court. Michell was being held on a $11,000 bond and is scheduled to appear 1 p.m. Monday in Elyria Municipal Court.